Court explains rejection of Michael Harty’s conviction appeal
This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.
The Court of Appeal gave reasons on 10 May 2016 for dismissing Michael Harty’s conviction appeal, ruling that his consent to release a toxicology report was unnecessary. The proceedings were reported on 10 May 2016. He had received bail pending appeal, which was dismissed the previous May.
He had pleaded not guilty at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the deaths of Maurice Hartnett and his wife Margaret. The collision happened on the evening of 29 July 2009 at Ardtomin, Askeaton. Following a jury conviction, Mr Justice Carroll Moran sentenced him on 25 January 2013 to five years in prison and disqualified him from driving for 30 years.
The prosecution alleged that his driving was affected by alcohol and that the collision happened on Maurice Hartnett’s side of the road. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said the road had an 80 km/h limit, with warning signs for dangerous bends on the approach. Hospital nurses collected a blood sample that evening at University Hospital Limerick.
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said the hospital-patient relationship ordinarily entitled him to expect privacy for his medical records. He was unconscious when gardaí requested a report on his blood-alcohol level from his treating doctor. Although he later signed a consent form, it concerned a single medical report and he had received no caution.
His barrister, Anthony Sammon SC, argued that any mechanism allowing gardaí to obtain the report required judicial intervention comparable to a search warrant.
The court found both the request and the hospital’s disclosure reasonable. It held that the public interest in investigating suspected serious crime outweighed his privacy interest, making any interference necessary and proportionate. His confidentiality argument failed on the same basis, and consent was unnecessary in these circumstances.
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan delivered the judgment alongside Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice John Edwards.